Wave motor



. July 14, 1925.

D. G. LILLEY WAVE MOTOR Filed Aug. 20. 1923 Daniel G; .Lilley Patented July 14, 1925. i

DANIEL LILLEY, or DENVER, COLORADO.

WAVE MOTOR. I

Application filed August 20, 1923. Serial No. 658,344. I i i To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, DANIEL GRAY LrLLnY, citizen of the United States, residing at Denver, in the city and county of Denver-and State of Colorado, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Wave Motors; and I do declarethe following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable othersskilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, and to the characters of reference marked thereon, which form a partof this specification.

This invention relates to in'iprovements in mechanisms of the type employed in transforming the energy of the ocean waves into.

useful work, and which are popularly known wave motorsl In our complex civilization, power plays a part of ever-increasing importance. At present, thanks to our extensive-fuel supply, we obtain the greatest percentage of our power from steam and internal combustion engines with arr-increasing percentage from water power. Ithas, however, been recognized for years that thelocean waves and the tides have an unlimited amount of potential energy and if this energy could be converted into power, enough of it would be available to supply the world with heat, light and power for all times to come. i I

Many different types of mechanisms have been designed for transforming the energy of the ocean waves into such a form that it could be employed forthe production of heat and power, but, as far as I am aware, none of them have gone into extensive use.

It is the object of this invention toproducc a 'wave motor which will be entirely protected. from the action of the elements, which is adapted to be built in any size necessary to produce the required amount of power and shall be of simple and substantial construction. It shall have a minimum oi? parts and require the minimum amount of repairs and attention.

The above and other objects, which will appear as the description proceeds, are attained by means-of a structure'which I will now describe in detail, reference for this purpose being had to the accompanying Fig. 2 is a section taken on line 2 2, Fig. 1; and i Flg. 3 sectlon taken on line 33,

Fig. 1.

Numeral lreprcsents, as a whole, the float portion of my motor which is preferably circular in plan and has an upper annular or ringlike deck2. Directlybelow this and spaced therefrom isa second deck 8. The inner and outer edges of decks 2 and 3 are connected by circular members 4 and 5 which serve to form awater-tight annular compartment 6. The bottom 7; of the float is dished and has its outer-edge connected to' member 4, and is also connected to the lower edge of the central wall5. Aphirality' of annular inclineddccks 8 extend from the central wall 5 to the inside of the bottom 7 forming cone-shaped compart ments. Vertical cone-shaped walls 9 divide the radial compartment into a plurality of smaller compartments or rooms. Thebot- :tom 7 is provided at every room with a plurality of valves 10 which arenormally closed and which have a check-valve action whereby the water is prevented from entering the rooms and water within the rooms is permitted to leave. This provides what may be termed, a self-bailing arrange- 'ment which assures that the rooms or compartments will always be free from water, except when it is desired to flood them with water, as may sometimes be necessary during severe storms. I have provided means, indicated diagrammatically'by the lines 11 for maintaining the valves 10 open wheneveruthe compartments are to be flooded. lVhen there is'a heavy sea or severe storm, one or more oii' the m any compartments may be flooded so as to permit the motor to become partially submerged and thus relieve it from excessive strains due to the rough 'ness of the. sea. The reason this mechanism is not shown in. detail, is that the specific construction is immaterial, as the valves may be opened and closed by a variety of specifically different means. I It is evident that the annular float l which I have justdescribed will float on the water I will now describe the mechanism or means by whichthe rocking of the float oan-be-converted into power in a practicable. :form.

\Vithin the central opening formed by.

wall 5, I secure a spherical casing-formed preferably of an upper spherical portion 12 and a lower complemental portion 13.; The diameter of the spherical casing is less than the diameter of thecentral :compartment. and it, is securedcentrally of the compartment so as to leave anannular Workspace 1 1 between the insideof wall andthe out side of the casing. A floor 15 forms the bottom of the work space. A curved angle 16 has one flange secured to the floor-and to the other flange the spherical portion 12 is secured. The -complemental spherical portion 13 is provided with an outwardly projecting flange 17, by meansof which it can be held in place so as to form a spherical chamber. The portion 12'1nay also be provided with openings, manholes or doors which have notbeen shown, but by means of which a man may enter thechamber wheneversuch a course is'found to be necessary. Secured to, the inner surface-of the upper portion 12 is a bracket 18- Whichhas'been shown as 'a hollow cone, having its base provided with aflange19 by means of which it is secured to part-12. The lower end of the bracket terminatesina spherical socket '20 which'forms a bearing for the ball 21.

The parts are'so proportioned that the center ofthe socket -20 -coincidesas nearly as possible with the center ofbuoyancyof the float so that as thelatter rocks o-ntho water surface,it will'roclrabout the center of the socket. Secured tothe ball 21 is a heavy bar orpendulum 22 which is provided at its lower end-with a weight 23.

'It is apparent that the pendulum will always remain in a vertical position, regardless of the position oi the float, the

universal ball'and socket joint pern'iitting the floatto rockin any direction without affecting the position ot-the pendulum. As

it is-nay intention toemploythe relative motion-between the pendulum and the float *forthe production-of power, it is necessary to -prov ide'means for increasing-the inertia o'f'the pendulum to a maximum, or perhaps, more precisely,speaking, .to increase its' resistance 1 to sudden movement to a as great aneXtent aspossible. For thisfpur pose I havesecured to the-pendulum a plurality of conical shaped rings 24,1the spaces I between I which are divided into compartments by-means ofradial plates/-25. Near the-tops of each ring are holes-26xwhich permittheair to flow out so that the compartmentswill become full "of Water. Rods =27serve as braces and connectthe conical rings to the bottom 28 :of an a1r.-tight.com

pertinent which is secured. to the pp r end of the pendulum. Thiscompartment has a conical top member 29 which is joined to the bottom; by, means of, an annular member 30 The compartment just described serves as afloat and supports the weight of the pendulum. It .willbe pointed out here that the spherical casing is partly filled with a heavy liquid such as water, oil or mercury. The level of this liquid extends to such a .height that gthe buoyancy of the compartment substantially equals the weight of the pendulum so that very little,--if any, weight is borne by: the ball andsocket-joint; in fact, thewpressure is preferably in" antupward direction. .At :this'point let usstop and considerthe operation of the apparatus as tar aslit has been described."

Itwe imagine that thefloat is being tilted intothe dottedline position (Fig. 1), the pendulum being immersed in ailiquid whose surfaceiwill remain=level,- regardlesszof the extent to which 1 the :float "is tilted, will .re- 'inainiin a vertical position and maybe considered as being as.absolutelystationary as if it were anchored to the'ground. This is, of :course, not. literallytnue, as. .there are various forces atwor a that will: cause the pendulum to swingslightly, butdior all practical "purposes, it. is stationary, It is evident that in order to oausethe. pendulum .to..swing=about its center, the entire mass Of the pendulum .andtheliquid in which it is immersectmustbe moved. The-liquid .within the compartments between the walls 24::beCom-es in etiecta part :of t-heunass of the pendulum and therefore its-.inerti'atba comes comparativelylarge.

Itis nownecessary to provide mechanism by: means of which the relative .movement of the pendulumliand the spherical casing and float maybe transformedinto a moving forcethat can be used to operate pumps for compressing air or pumpingwateryor any other power transmitting mechanism.

In Fig.2 I have shown .aplurality of shafts 31 that are'journaled .in suitable bear- :ings in the. spherical portionv 12. I want to call particular attention atthis place to the fact that theaxesofthese shafts, when projected,--all pass through the centeriof ball 21 which is thecenter of oscillation oi the pendulum. and its-compartment. On the inside ofthespherical casing theshafts are bent so as to: form-curved crank arms32; Eacharm is'curved on the arcof a oirclerwhose center is: the center of the ball 21. The ends of arms32 are bent into inwardly- @directed cranlcpins 33 whose aIs'es'also-passthrough the center. of 'theball;;21.- The crank pins itermin'ate in spherical portions which engagean annulanqgroove 34 in the side 30. .To the outside of the shafts 31 I have se- Cured crank disks 35, gear wheels, pulleys or any other means ot transmitting motion and power, hen the float rocks there is relative movement between the'pendulum and the spherical casing and this .movement will rotate the shafts 31.1irst in one direction and then in the other. The arms 32 must be of such length that theyiwill not reach a dead center position with. the maximum relative movement of the casing and the pendulum. I want to call attention at this point to theimportance of having the shafts 31 mountedin such a manner that their axes pass through the center of osei l-.

lation of the pendulum; that the arms 32 are curved about the center of oscillation; and that the cranks 33 are so bent that their axes pass through the center of oscillation.

If any of these conditions are wanting, there,-

is liable to be a binding action, but with allot these conditions present thependulum may swing freely relative to the casing and in swinging it-will oscillate tovarying degrees the crank disks 35. j

It is now necessary to convert the power which oscillates the crank disks 35 into such energy that it can be usefully" employed.

This can be accomplished in many different ways, but as an example of one way 111 which this can be done, I have shown (Fig. l) a number of reciprocating pumps 36 that have their delivery ports connected by means ot' pipes 37 with a reservoir 38, which mayhave trapped air therein that fmay be put under pressure or whichhas attached thereto at intervals air chambers such .as-are ordinarily employed in connection; with highpressure pumps for the purpose of compensating for the pulsating discharge from the pumps. The liquid such as 011 from the reservoir 38 is passed through pipe 39 to a Pelton wheel passes to the intake ports of the pumps.

1 My object in using oil instead of water in my pumps is that the oil will keep the parts lubricated and is easier to handle without. leakage thaniwater. As it is my intention to use the same oil over and over again,-the

cost of usingoil overthat of using wateris very slight. \Vhere very high pressures are employed, it may-be necessaryto employ a flexible diaphragmbetweenthe oil and the air in the pressure chamberso as to prevent the air from mixing with the oil or from forming therewith an explosivemixture..

The spherical casingwhich encloses the pendulum servesto maintain an even depth of water about the same and to protect-it from becoming entangled with sea weeds.

cury or oil to be used,

It also permits heavy liquids, suchas mer- .From the above it will be seen that-I have provided a mechanism that isot simple and substantial construction. which is self-con tained. and may be towed or otherwise trans portedto a suitable place where it may be securely anchored. The waves will rock the float while the pendulum, owing to its 7 5 mounting at or near the center of buoyancy,

will remain substantially stationary, where .by relative movement is produced between the float and the pendulum. Means may be provided for transforming this movement into electrical energy which can betrans mitted to the land and stored. I have provided the float with compartments thatare normally empty and which provide'a great] amount of buoyancy, but which may readily beflooded in case 0t storm.

. I-Iaving now described my invention, what I I claim as new is:-

.1. A wave motor comprising asubstain tially toroidalshaped float adapted to rest upon the surface of a body of waterfsaid:

float having a pendulum suspended in the central opening thereofls'aid pendulum hav ing a float attached to it and adapted to rest upon the surface of a liquid to support the weight of; the pendulum.

ing. a centralopening, a. spherical casing so cured to said float and located ln-said central openlng, a pendulum entirely enclosed within saidcasing and means comprising a universal joint for securing said pendulum to said casing said joint being located ap-" proximately atthe center'ot said casing.

3-. A wave motor con'iprising a float having a central opening, a spherical casing se-l cured to said float and located in said cen tral opening,fa pendulum i thin. said casing, means comprising a universal joint for securing saidpendulum to said casi11g,fsaid joint being located approximately at the center of said casing, said spherical casing including a water-tlght compartment" sure rounding said pendulum nearits point of support, and a liquid withinsaid casing, the level of the liquid being above the bottom of the water-tight compartment. v

4. A wave motor comprising a float hav ing a central opening, a spherical casing secured to said float and located. in said central opening, a pendulum within said casing, meanscomprismga un versal ointtor se curing said. pendulum to said casing, said joint being located approximately'at the center-of said casing, said "spherical casing including a water-tight compartment surrounding said'pendulum near its point. of support, and a liquid'within said casing the levelot the liquid being above the botfrom the influence of ocean currents and tom of theWater-tight compartment, said 2. a wave motor comprising a float hav of thependulum.

-5. A wave motor comprisinga float having a central openlng, a: spherical casing secured to said float and located insaid' cen- 'tral opening, a pendulumwltlnn said casing,

means comprising a universal joint for-securing said pendulum to said casing, said joint being located approximately at the center ofsaid casing, saidflsphericalcasing v including. awater-tight compartment s ur -dulnm having-v secured thereto a; "plurality of vanes and conical shaped; plates, one.

rounding said pendulum nearits point'ot support, and a liquid withinsaldcasing, the I level of: theliquid beingabove the bottom of. the water-tight compartment, said. penwithin the. other, whereby compartments are formed which cooperate with the liquid.

within-the casing to restrict the movement of the pendulum, and means ,journaled; in

shaped float having an annular rght.

the casing. and cooperatively connected to the pendulum for converting the relative movement of I the pendulum; and the casing I surface of a body. of'water', a pendulum into an oscillative movement.

,6. A wave motor COIIlPltlSlllg flIl annular compartment ,at its top, a plurality of annular spaced decks beneath said compartment,

said decks being outwardly and. downwardly inclined, the inner'andouteredges of said decks. being connected so as to form annular. compartments, a PGDClUlllHLPIVOt/ ally connected to :sa d float at a point. substantially. at its center of buoyancy, fandf meansifor causlng the relat ve movementof thefloatand the-pendulum to beconverted.

intooscillative motion. r

7. A wave, motorj comprising an annular shaped; float having an annular watertight Y compartment at vitstoP, plurality of annu-" lar spaced decks beneath, said compartment, said decks being outwardly and downwardly inclined, the inner and ou'teredges ofsaid? decksbeing connected soas to form annular compartments, apendulum p votally connected to said floatat a! point: substantially at its center, of buoyancy, jsaidpendulum having aplurality o1" annular, downwardly incl ned, ringhke members secured to the,

; same attheir uppeiyends and spacedtopro vide. annular spaces for the reception of liquid,- and means for causing the relative movement of the pendulum and the :fioat to be convertedinto oscillative motion, 2

8. A wave motor comprisinga float hav-i. ing a central 0 ening, iaspl 1 erical casingfse: curedto. said oat andlocated in saidf cen tral opening, a pendulum within said casing, comprising aI universal joint for se fcuring; said pendulum to said i l'filhmf i joint beinglocated approximately at the center of said casing, 'said spherical casing including-E a watertight compartment sur-- 1 rounding-said pendulum nearits point of support and a liquid-within said casing, the.

level o f'th'e liquid being above the bottom of the watertight compartment, saidpend'u'luni}having; securedthereto plurality ofvanes and conical shaped plates, onewrth-.

formed which I cooperate with the liquid within the casing to restrict the movement in the other; whereby,- compartments are:

of the pendulum, and means-journalechin.

the casing and cooperatively connected to the 'fpendulum for-"'converting the relative movement of the pendulum and the casing into, ,an, osc illative movement, said means comprismg af shatt' whose axis vhen pro.

longed passes througlr'the centeu of said universalijoint, a crank; arm curved 1n the: arc of-a circle'who'se center s the centerof supported by the'flo'at'and capable of uni-. versal" n'oovem'entw with respect thereto, and means securedto the-pendulum and opera tively connected to the float-for transforming the relative movement of th'e pendulumand thelfloat into an o'scil-la-tive-movement, said'mea'ns comprising a shaft whose axis projected pass through the centero'l oscilla tion; of thependulum, said shaft having one end formed into a crank-curved onthe arc of acircleflwhose center is the center of osc'illation. w i a 10; A wave motor comprising a substantially toroidal; shaped fioatadapted to rest upon the 'surface of a body of water, a. spherical casing located in the central openinglofsaid float and securedto the latter and a pendulum locatedwithin the casing and mounted for oscilla'tion about a point substantially;concentric withthe casing;' v 11; A wave motor comprising,- in combination, a floatadapted' to rest upon the sur faceof a body of water, said fioathaving: an opening and a pendulum securedto the float universal joint-, said pendulum having an airchamber secured theretowhich forms a float adapted to support the weight of'tl e' pendulumf 1 .12, 'A wave motor comprising, in combination, a fioat adapted to restuponthe sur-- face, of a body of water, said float having an; opening, acasing, located within the opening of said that and Tfsecur'ed to thelatter, sai

casing being adaptedwtocontainaliquid, a

pendulum pivotally attached to. said float the pendulum with respect to the float, the free end of the pendulum extending into the casing and a float secured to the pendulum, said last named float being adapted to support the Weight of the pendulum.

13. In a Wave motor, in combination, a casing having a concave bottom portion, a pendulum mounted to swing about a pivot substantially concentric with the concave bottom and a liquid in the casing, the pendulum being of such length that it projects a into the liquid.

14. In a Wave motor, in combination, a casing having a concave bottom portion, a pendulum pivoted to swing about a point located substantially at the center of curvature of the concave portion, a liquid in said casing, said pendulum being of sufficient length to project into the liquid and a float secured to the pendulum, said float being adapted to rest onthe surface of the liquid and to support the Weight of the pendulum. I

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

DANIEL G. LILLEY. 

